The Unlived Life
by Linz005
Summary: This is a Tuck Everlasting/ Moulin Rouge crossover. If you're not familiar with the first it does stand on its own. Winnie meets a mysterious man while traveling to Paris. Now Complete!! R&R and THanx
1. En route to Paris

"Winifred! Winifred!" Winnie prayed her mother would at least call her Winnie if she insisted on calling her at all. She was seventeen years old and the year was 1916. Her parents had taken her from her home after the summer she had spent with the remarkable Jesse Tuck. She longed to see his face again, but she would settle for the streets of Europe. She would climb all 652 steps of the Eiffel Tower for her Jesse. They had set sail so long ago and it seemed as if the voyage would never end. She had hardly spoken to anyone on the boat the whole time, but she longed for someone she could talk to the way she had talked to Jesse. Instead, she had once again fallen into her prim life.  
She looked desperately for somewhere she could hide from her mother's calls. Winnie had gone to explore the boat on her own for a change, but with in minutes her mother was on her tail. She ran around the corner and nearly crashed into two passengers who gave her disapproving looks. Winnie turned down to one of the sitting areas and went to sit down.  
  
"Excuse me?" She had just about sat on a poor man.  
"Forgive me. I'm sorry. I was just trying to get away from someone."  
"Who?"  
"My mother actually." She turned to face the man. He was an older man, but still ravishingly handsome. His dark hair contrasted his brilliant eyes that shined almost in spite of themselves. She blushed when she realized she had been staring. "I am sorry."  
  
"That's alright. What is your name?"  
"Winifred Foster. I prefer to be called Winnie, though." Her brilliant blue eyes gazed at the man. "And you are?"  
"Christian Jackson. So Miss Foster, are you headed to Paris?" She nodded. "So am I. Is it your first time there?"  
  
"Yes. I'm very excited. I want to walk up all 652 steps of the Eiffel Tower." She smiled and walked over to the railing. Winnie leaned over and gazed at the beautiful water. It reminded her of the spring back home. "I promised someone I would." She added. "If you don't mind my asking, you're not French or American. You sound English. So what were you doing in America?"  
"You're right I am. I was working on a play."  
"Are you an actor?" Her eyes grew wide with excitement. Winnie had never met an actor. The thought was so stirring.  
"No, just a writer." She still smiled widely. She had never met a real writer before. Christian looked at his pocket watch. "Won't you come have lunch with me? I would love to carry on this conversation." He smiled, but something about him was sad.  
"I'd love to." Winnie knew that her mother would sorely disapprove and that added to her want to go. They went to the ship's restaurant and sat at a quaint table. They talked for a good hour after finishing their meal and Winnie felt so comfortable with him.  
  
"Winifred, what on earth are you doing?" Her mother shouted from behind her. It was loud enough to distinguish it as a yell, but not loud enough to make a scene. Winnie hated being called in such a tone. It made her feel so childish. She was embarrassed that Christian had to hear her being talked to in such a manner.  
  
"I was having lunch with Mr. Jackson here. I met him while I looked around the ship."  
"You don't even know him and it is inappropriate for you to just go off and have lunch with a strange man when I have been looking for you for nearly three hours."  
"I know Mr. Jackson quite well. He's English, a writer, and headed to Paris." While the argument went on in Mrs. Foster's favor, Christian wrote something on a slip of paper.  
"I'm sorry, Mrs. Foster. I did not mean to act inappropriately. Miss Foster, it was a pleasure to meet you. I fear I must be going." He extended his hand to her and carefully slipped the piece of paper into her hand. He then shook her mother's hand in proper fashion and left.  
"Really, Winifred. I wonder if we didn't make a mistake in not sending you to that school. Etiquette, young lady, is key." Winnie knew she had lost and eager to get back to her room to read the note she relented.  
"Yes, Mother. I know. I'm sorry. If it is alright, I will retire to my room until supper." Her mother nodded her approval and Winnie walked briskly off in the direction of the family's rooms.  
"Walk like a lady, Winifred." She slowed down. Winnie entered her large suite and plopped down on the bed in the most non-young ladyish way she possibly could. She unfolded the paper and read it carefully.  
"Dear Miss Foster,  
Forgive me if I got you in trouble.  
I would very much like to see you again.  
My room number is B-191.  
I will be there all night and probably most of tomorrow.  
I hope to see you.  
Christian"  
She was so surprised. He wanted to talk to her more. She had met very few people who actually wanted to speak to her as opposed to wanting to know about her money. He had no idea who she was and still wanted to talk to her. He was handsome and kind and wonderful. Granted he was a lot older than her, but then she knew people her age who had married men much older then him. She was just going to talk with him. After dinner would be her only chance to get to see him that night.  
"Mother, Father. Might I go for I walk? I'll stay below decks if you want and return shortly." She couldn't believe how sweetly she had asked that. Winnie knew her parents would respond well to polite manners and might actually let her go.  
"I suppose so. Just don't get involved with strange men this time." Her mother added nicely.  
"Of course not Mother." She exited the room briskly and headed straight for his room. Winnie had only just met him, but she had a dire need to see him again. She knocked gently on the door and waited, however impatiently, for him to answer. When he didn't answer she knocked again. She was just about to leave when he finally opened the door.  
"Hello, I read your note. It said to come." She looked at him pleading for answers.  
"Certainly. Come in. I'm very pleased to see you again. I haven't actually spoken to that many people on board. I keep to myself a lot." She walked into the room. It was an absolute mess. It was incomplete disrepair. Christian scrambled to clear her a place to sit amid the massive numbers of paper. Winnie sat down and smiled at him.  
"What are all these papers? Things you've written?"  
"Yes, mostly poems."  
"May I?"  
"By all means." She picked up a piece of paper and read the few words scribbled on them. It was all about lost love and sadness. Winnie was beginning to see that something had happened to Christian to make him so sad.  
"It's lovely. My opinion probably won't mean that much to you, but you seem so talented." She looked up at him with clear blue eyes.  
"No, you're opinion means a lot. Are you in terrible trouble for speaking with me?" He laughed softly.  
"No, she just won't let it go just yet. If she knew I was here she would be less than thrilled. I'm not sorry I came though. I like talking to you. I know I just met you, but things are comfortable with you."  
"Yes, I know what you mean." They talked for a little more than an hour when Winnie realized what time it was.  
"I must go. My mother worries about me being out at night. She thinks I'll get consumption or something." Christian's expression turned sad at the mention of that horrific disease. Winnie tried to ignore the change. "She'll come looking for me. We dock tomorrow in Paris. I may not see you again."  
"Nonsense. Here's my address in Paris. If you can get away from your parents come to see me." They were unsure what to do next. At long last Winnie hugged her new found friend. She held tight to the piece of paper he had given her and prayed she would be able to find him again. 


	2. Exploring the Montmartre

Author's note: Ok so I don't really know a whole lot about Paris in 1916. I've basically changed things just so that they fit where I'm going with the story. Just sit back and enjoy the story!!  
  
The boat docked early the next morning. Winnie had put the address among her personal things safely hidden from her mother's keen eye. She hadn't even looked at it yet. Her father made arrangements for a separate car to carry their bags to their hotel room. It was in the Montmartre, once a place of ill-repute was now considered quite fashionable. There was a magnificent hotel in the center of the village. Winnie imagined that it had once been a seedy, sordid place full of all the kinds of people her father would never speak with never the less live in the same hotel as.  
She stood outside and looked up. At the top of the hotel, there was a large window that appeared to belong to a garret. It still looked like it must have looked before the hotel had been fixed up. It was all very mysterious.  
Winnie's family had two suites on the second floor, one for her, one for her parents. Since she and her mother had connected a little more, they had an understanding about her need for privacy. She wanted to go walk around the city desperately. Her parents finally agreed that she could go as long as she didn't leave the village. Winnie walked over to the broken down building across the street. She had heard of the Moulin Rouge, but had never even seen a picture of it. Even in its broken down state it seemed beautiful and magical. She walked along the ruins and then walked into the hall. Someone was sitting on the stage singing sadly.  
"Come what may." He looked up. It was Christian. She couldn't believe her eyes and she hated herself for intruding.  
"I'm sorry. I'll go."  
"No, please. Stay." Winnie hesitated, but then she walked toward the stage.  
"That was a beautiful song. Did you write it?" He nodded and tried to smile. "This place must have been amazing. Were you ever here before it closed?" He nodded again.  
"It wasn't half as amazing as some of the people." Christian seemed to pull himself away from a dream of the past. "So is Paris everything you thought it would be?"  
"I've only been here so far, but it is pretty special. I didn't even have time to look at your address yet or I would have come to see you first." He smiled.  
"It isn't far to my place. Come." He led her out of the broken down palace. Winnie was walking with him before her mother's voice in her head could even tell her not too. She found herself across the street in front of her very hotel.  
"You're teasing? This is my hotel. Where's you're room?"  
"I live in the garret. I actually own the hotel. I bought it after my first play was a success. I didn't want to lose this place." He got that sad look in his eyes again. Winnie was full of excitement over the whole thing. She walked up to the garret with him. Inside greatly resembled the cabin on the boat. It was full of papers practically covering the room. Christian's suitcase was still packed on one side of the room.  
"This hotel is lovely." She walked over to the large window and looked out on the view of the Moulin Rouge and Paris. "You're very lucky to have such a place, Mr. Jackson."  
"Miss Foster, please call me Christian."  
"Then by all means call me Winnie." They really were friends and he was incredible. He was attractive and successful and most importantly he wasn't boring. "Why would you leave a place like this?" He didn't know exactly how to answer.  
"Sometimes, Winnie, people are lost to us. And when they are gone their shadows are left. Eventually are whole world becomes shadows. I needed to get some light back." Winnie regretted prying into his business. It really was none of her business why he would or wouldn't want to live there.  
"I know what that's like." Jessie, her only love, wanted her to come back, but she knew that she couldn't. She wanted to experience one life to the fullest even if that meant without him rather than living a thousand or more only half living. Now he was untouchable. A shadow.  
Christian was surprised to hear her response. She was so young. Younger than he had been, though, maybe by only a few years. Now her eyes had a sad expression filling them. What terrible tragedy made this child look so much older. When she said that she understood she sounded as if she were older than he was. Before he could stop himself he was brushing his fingers against the side of her face. A tear began to roll down her cheek as if his touch had burned her.  
"Don't cry. Please don't cry. I'm sorry. I didn't mean anything." She looked at him with watery eyes. Winnie pressed her eyes closed for a long time clearing away the tears. She tried to smile.  
"It isn't you. It is most definitely not you." She began to cry a little more. Christian whipped the tears from her cheeks and Winnie found herself hugging him. He hugged her back and drew her near. He kissed her softly on her innocent mouth. Winnie had never been kissed like that before. No matter how hard she tried she couldn't hate it.  
"I have to go, Christian." She turned and left as quickly as she could. 


	3. In The Rain

Winnie went back to her suite and gazed out her window. She felt as if she were wronging Jessie by having feelings for Christian. She didn't want heartache and hurt anymore. She wanted the dream life where she could have children and grow old with the man she loved. That was impossible with Jessie. She barely knew Christian yet she felt as if she had never felt so close to someone so soon. Winnie didn't want that kiss to end as much as she had pulled away from him.  
Rain had begun to fall on the darkened city and the moon was covered by thick clouds waiting to burst. She heard a knock on her door.  
"Winifred! It's time for dinner. Please come join us."  
"No, mother, I'm not feeling very well. I'm going to just go to bed now."  
"Very well. I will see you in the morning." Winnie closed her eyes for a moment and when she opened them they were drawn to the street below. She saw a man standing out in the rain. His eyes seemed to meet hers suddenly. Christian watched her until she pulled away from the window. Christian turned away. Of course, Winnie wanted nothing to do with a broken old man. He found himself staring at the Moulin Rouge. He fell to his knees as rain dripped from his hair and clothes. Everywhere he turned something pulled him into the past he had never really left. His gaze was locked on the broken windmill until a delicate hand pulled his face away. "Christian, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to leave. I didn't want to. I wanted to kiss you over and over again." She allowed her lips to find his and didn't fight it anymore. After a long time, Christian pulled away. He smiled magically. Winnie had never seen a smile shine the way his did. This was the first time she had seen him smile and it didn't seemed forced. The rain pounded around them, but seemed not to touch them at all. Winnie, finally, began to feel the rain and shivered. Without even knowing where he was going, Christian pulled her into the cover of the Moulin Rouge. He continued to kiss her, but abruptly stopped.  
  
"Not here. We can't do this here." Winnie looked at him with confusion in her eyes. "What? Why?" Without waiting for an answer, she pressed against his lips again. "I just can't." He turned to the door and ran across the road. Winnie wasn't sure whether or not to follow. What dark secret did this place hold? Winnie walked up and down the halls of the old nightclub. She wanted some explanation. All of the doors were shut and locked except for one. It was what appeared to be the largest dressing room. Winnie stared at the door. "Satine." She read aloud tracing her finger over the letters leaving a trail in the dust. Everything appeared to be exactly as it must have been when the Moulin Rouge had closed. Costumes and clothes lined the walls and dust gathered on the objects that were laid on the vanity. Winnie couldn't help, but smile as she examined all of the things. She opened what looked like a jewelry box and found a small stack of letters filling it. The paper had to be nearly twenty years old. Winnie removed one piece of paper and held it gently in her fingers. She began to read the neatly written words. "Dearest Satine,  
I count the hours until I will see you again. No matter how many times we meet it is never enough. I want to see you tonight and tomorrow and always. I'll be waiting for you tonight.  
With above all things Love,  
Christian" "Christian." She whispered. There was no doubting Winnie's mind that this was Christian's secret. This is what made him so sad. He had loved and lost a long time ago. No wonder he had been so worried about kissing her here. This was where he had probably spent the most happy time of his life. She couldn't expect to replace this woman. Winnie wondered what had separated them.  
  
Winnie placed the letter back in the jewelry box and closed it ensuring that they would be hidden for another seventeen years or more. She walked over to the small settee and found another stack of papers. It was a play entitled Spectacular, Spectacular written by Christian. It, too, was layered with dust. She wanted to read it, but feared that if she didn't get back to the hotel soon, her mother or father might come looking for her. She reached for one of the coats that were laying near the settee she put it on and ran out into the rain. Christian was waiting in the lobby when she came back in. "Winnie, forgive me. I.Where did you get that coat?" He knew immediately that he had seen Satine wear that exact thing. Winnie didn't answer him. "Winnie, I think that I made a very bad mistake." He looked sad again and put his hand up to her cheek fighting tears. "Maybe if this were a different time in a different place, but." "But it isn't." He turned and left. Winnie was left standing alone again as someone she loved walked away. She let the rain drip down and mingle with her tears. 


	4. Near Tragedy

A/N I hope all you guys that were so nice with your compliments are enjoying the story. Sorry for the long wait in new chapters. First I was waiting for school to be over then I had serious writers block. So make sure to keep reviewing because I want to make sure everyone enjoys!! Thanx a bunch-Lindsay  
  
Winnie didn't see Christian for almost a week. She had walked up to his garret hundreds of times, but she couldn't bring herself to knock on the door. She missed him. His touch, his voice, his eyes. She even missed that sad look that he got in his eyes. Winnie found herself crying herself to sleep almost every night. Had she lost the only other person she could have possibly loved? She sat despondently at breakfast in the lobby with her mother and father staring at the staircase with hopes that Christian would come down. Maybe if she saw him face to face she would have the courage to speak to him or maybe he would know that the real mistake was walking away from her. To compound matters she wasn't feeling very well.  
"Mother, Father." The room felt as though it was spinning. Winnie thought that getting up might help. "I'm not hungry. May I go upstairs?" Her mother looked at her with genuine concern.  
"You barely ate dinner. You haven't come with us into Paris once. Are you sure that you're alright?"  
"I'll be fine, Mother. I just want to lie down for a little while." Her father thought that that might be best. He told her mother that Winnie was probably just still a little weary from the trip. Winnie stood up, imperceptibly balancing herself using the edge of the table. She made a beeline for the stairs hoping that walking quickly would drown out the sensation of feeling as though she were going to faint. She climbed a few stairs and then hit into someone.  
"Winnie?" Was she hallucinating? It was his voice. She looked up at his face, but her eyes suddenly went blurry.  
  
"Christian." She fell backwards in a manner that reminded Christian all too well of Satine's final moments. He held her in his arms and began to say words that reminded him again of that fateful day. He ran into the lobby yelling,  
"Somebody get some help!" He held her tight in his arms. Christian changed his voice to a whisper "Winnie, darling. Everything is going to be alright. I promise. I'm sorry. Wake-up." Her eyes flickered, but then rolled up so that Christian saw the whites only. The Foster's ran to his side. He mother petrified while her father tried to stay calm. He led Christian up the stairs. Winnie was placed on the bed while they waited on the doctor.  
Christian left the when the doctor came. He slid down the wall just to the right of her bedroom door where they had placed her. Had he not killed all of his gods the night he lost Satine he would have prayed to one. Instead, he chose someone he knew would listen.  
"Satine, darling. Please make sure that she is alright. I can't bear to lose Winnie too. I love you so much and my love for you never ends, but you're gone. She was here. Don't let them take her away. I pushed her away, but I was wrong. I need her or I might die, no I will die." He closed his tear filled eyes running his hands through his hair and then leaning his head against the wall. The door opened and the doctor emerged.  
"Doctor, please tell me. Is she going to be alright?"  
"Miss Foster is very ill. She has an incredibly high fever. Only time will tell. I am afraid that there is nothing else that I can do for her." Christian remembered the night in the rain. He left her in the rain to possibly catch her death. Would this be his fault? (A/N I don't know if medically this is accurate, but Christian has guilt so in his mind it is.) "Are you Christian?" The doctor continued.  
"Yes."  
"She is in and out of consciousness, but she is asking for you." Christian opened the door quietly. Her father met him and stepped into the hallway.  
"Mr. Jackson, I don't know why she keeps saying your name. And though I am not happy nor is my wife we will let you see her for a moment." He followed him back into the room. Mr. and Mrs. Foster surprisingly left the room for a moment. They didn't want to upset Winnie if she was awake enough to know what was going on. It was possible these were their last moments with her and they didn't want her to die angry with them.  
"Christian.Christian." Winnie tossed back and forth.  
"Winnie, darling. I'm here." He sat down next to her bedside. Christian lifted her hand and kissed it gently. "Darling, forgive me. It wasn't a mistake. I love you." It was almost as though Satine had been listening to every word he said, suddenly Winnie seemed to have a moment of lucidity. As her parents reentered the room, she said quietly.  
"I love you, too." He kissed her hand again and squeezed it tightly.  
"Mr. Jackson, you should go." Christian began to leave, however, hesitantly, but Winnie grabbed for him.  
"No don't leave. Stay with me." Her parents again relented to appease her. "Don't make him leave." She continued on.  
"I'm staying, love. I'll never leave you." He held tight to that hand.  
Winnie's parents sat near the fireplace disapproving of Christian's prescence. Winnie didn't regain that kind of clarity again that night. Christian listened to her talk about magic springs and people named the Tuck's. The doctor returned the next morning. He told them that Winnie may still be in danger, but encouraged them all to get some sleep.  
"It won't do her any good, if you all make yourselves ill."  
"I promised I wouldn't leave and I won't." Christian shouted at the doctor. "Please," he said regaining his composure (A/N Think when he yelled "She doesn't love you.him." get it?) "Go get some rest. I'll stay with her. Please." 


	5. Looking to the Past and Future

A/N: Sorry about yet another author's note. Aren't you glad that I didn't make you wait like two months for this next chapter (LOL) I hope you review so I don't have to stop.  
  
Christian was left alone with Winnie. He wanted to hold her in his arms so that she would know that everything truly would be ok. He climbed onto the bed and took her into his arms much like when Satine had.No! He banished the thought from his mind. This was not the same. She was going to be fine. He said it out loud a few times as though to make it true. Christian placed his hand on her cheek. It still felt so hot. Then she opened her eyes.  
"Winnie." He asked. Winnie smiled back at him slightly. Christian was so pleased that she could hear him. "Winnie, do you remember what I told you yesterday?" She nodded and went to speak.  
"You said that you loved me." She was going to make it, he was sure of it. Her smile seemed to have some of the same spark he had noticed the first day on the boat. "And I said that I loved you too." He kissed her softly. "Then I don't remember much else. I remember talking about Jesse."  
"Jesse?"  
"Jesse Tuck." Christian nodded. "He's never going to die, never get sick, never lose anyone else." She had that sad look in her eyes now. Christian held her closer stroking her shining hair.  
"That doesn't mean anything. We don't know how much we truly love someone until they're gone. Besides it's our pain that makes us real."  
"Spoken like a true poet." She gave him that slight smile again. "Who's Satine?" She asked. Winnie never would have ventured this question in an unimpaired state.  
"She was the Sparkling Diamond." Christian relived every painful moment along with the happy ones. Christian hoped that he could keep her awake. He hadn't recounted that story in sixteen years since he wrote his first and only book. "She died of consumption and I held her in my arms when she died." He fought back tears as he finished the story.  
"Now I understand."  
"Understand what?"  
"Why your eyes look so sad sometimes and why you wouldn't kiss me at the Moulin Rouge. Everything. I went to her dressing room. I saw letters you had written her. I wondered what had happened and now I know." She reached up and touched his cheek with a pale hand. The Foster's reentered at that moment. They were horrified to find Christian holding their seventeen year old daughter. They saw that she was awake and were overjoyed.  
"Christian, now you should go get some rest." Christian looked to Winnie to take his lead. She nodded.  
"Alright then. I'll be back soon. I promise." He kissed her cheek. He no longer cared about her parent's approval or disapproval. Christian walked to his garret. He thought about touching his lips to her cheek. She felt cooler. Winnie was going to be fine. "Thank-you Satine." He whispered to himself. He laid upon the bed trying to sleep. Christian drifted into slumber with Winnie on his mind. It was the first time in seventeen years that he hadn't thought of Satine the moment before he went to bed.  
Christian returned to Winnie's side and stayed there everyday for two weeks. She was really getting better. She stayed awake all day and begged the doctor to let her get up out of bed. She was also getting fed up with having her parents in such close quarters.  
"Mother, Father. I feel really awful that you are spending so much of our trip in my room. I really think that you should go enjoy Paris." Her mother began to protest, but Winnie interrupted. "I mean guilt might impede my recovery." She stole a smile at Christian. Winnie had never been so brave, but there was something about having Christian next to her that made Winnie not feel like letting her parents run her life. Her father took her mother's arm and they agreed to go out for a short time if Winnie promised to stay in bed. "Oh I will and I'll have Christian to keep me company."  
As soon as they had exited the room, Christian sat a top the bed holding Winnie. He whispered poetry and loving words in her ear. He kissed her over and over again and she kissed him back. "I love you. You know that, right?" Christian said to her softly.  
"Mmm.Of course I do. And I love you so much too." Winnie kissed him passionately on the lips. "I don't know what I am going to do when we leave. We are supposed to be leaving in a week. My father is talking about extending the visit because of my illness, but no matter how long we stay it will never be enough." Winnie thought that she might cry, but she held back.  
"I'm not going to lose you. I could go with you or you could stay here." He lifted her chin so that her face was tilted toward his. Her eyes grew wide and she smiled bigger than she ever had. "Do you mean it? Honestly." He shook his head.  
"Just wait and see." He smiled mischievously, "But would I ever lie to you." They shared another passionate kiss. Christian had it all planned. Everything would be perfect and he would ask Winnie Foster to marry him.  
  
A/N Does anyone think that this will really be that simple?? Keep reading and reviewing to see what turns out (No reviews no new chapters. Wouldn't that make you sad??) 


	6. Unexpected Visitor

The very next day, Christian traveled to the heart of Paris to the best jeweler. He skimmed over every ring. It hurt him a little to look at all the diamonds. He could never have afforded to buy Satine anything as nice as what he was looking at now to get for Winnie. To compound everything, all he could think about was the first time he saw Satine. He tried to push all the memories to the back of his mind, but they kept resurfacing. He tried to focus on Winnie. He loved her so much, but he couldn't help but wonder if he loved her the way he loved Satine. He wondered if they would be as happy as he and Satine would have been.  
He found the perfect ring. Christian could just picture it on Winnie's finger. He took a deep breath and purchased it. There was no where to go, but forward.  
"Mr. Foster?" Christian found Winnie's father alone in the hotel lobby. "May I speak with you in private?" Mr. Foster nodded. Christian took him into an office in the back of the hotel and sat down opposite him. "Winnie and I have gotten very close in the past several weeks."  
"Several is a bit extreme, Mr. Jackson. It has only been about four weeks." He looked at Christian sternly.  
"Alright, maybe so, but I still feel very close to her. I know that you're planning to leave soon and I don't think that I can sit idly by and lose her." Mr. Foster didn't say anything so Christian pressed on. "I would like your permission for her hand in marriage."  
"It sounds as though you intend to ask her regardless of what I say. Mr. Jackson, I can't say that I approve of your relationship. I hardly know you. Your also a little older than I had anticipated the man Winnie would marry to be. I assume she has told you about the money. You should also know that she doesn't get any of it if she goes against my wishes. So, if I were to say no, would you still marry her without the money?"  
"I assure you that I didn't know anything about money. I love her more than I can put into words. And there was a time when I didn't think that that would be possible. As far as money is concerned I have a substantial income. I wouldn't need her money for us to live a more than comfortable life. I own this hotel and my plays are performed often. I can take care of Winnie and I will." Mr. Foster looked very serious for a long moment.  
"Very well then. You may marry my daughter." Christian smiled and thanked him emphatically before setting out to find Winnie. It turned out that she was in her room. Christian knocked ever so impatiently on the door. Finally, she answered it. She looked absolutely amazing. He knew this was the right time.  
"Christian!" She nearly squealed with excitement and hugged him. He lifted her off the ground and spun her around. "Christian, what are you doing?" She laughed softly as he put her down.  
"Come on. I want you to come with me."  
"Where are we going?"  
"You'll see. Now come with me." Christian pulled her arm gently. She laughed again and followed him out of the room. He led her into Paris and then made her close her eyes. "Alright. Open your eyes." She opened them while standing before the Eiffel Tower. She had been waiting the entire trip to stand here and now here she was. Her mind was filled with thoughts of Jesse, but then she looked at Christian and she hugged him. "You told me that you wanted to walk up all of the stairs the day that I met you on the boat. I wanted the one to be with you."  
"Thank-you. I'm glad that you are the one with me. We better hurry. This may take a while." They passed the lifts and headed for the stairs. (A/N I don't know how accurate this portrial of the Eiffel Tower is, but I've never been there so again just go with it.) They made it to the top just as the sun began to set. Winnie walked over to the side and looked out at the amazing orange and pink sky. Christian stood at her side leaning on the railing.  
"Is it everything you imagined?"  
"And more." She smiled at him and touched his cheek. "Better that you're here." He leaned in and kissed her softly. Christian pressed his forehead against hers and then kissed her again.  
"I'm glad because there is something that I wanted to ask you." He stepped back and was preparing to get on one knee when someone called from behind.  
"Winnie Foster?" It was a young man. Winnie looked up in complete shock. She knew that voice so well.  
"Jesse." She ran over to him and hugged him (A/N I know this never actually happened, but that's the joy of fanfic right?). Jesse kissed her passionately. Winnie seemed to get lost in Jesse's eyes. She didn't even look back at Christian. He made his way instead to the lifts. He wanted to leave as quickly as possible. This was what he was afraid of. He had thought that this Jesse guy must have died like Satine, but he was here. Why would Winnie chose him over the love of her life? Would he honestly choose Winnie over Satine if he had the choice?  
He walked down the street sullenly looking at the ring box. He looked behind him only once in hopes that Winnie would be following him, but she wasn't. Now he truly did have to leave Montmartre, leave Paris, leave France. He had forced him self to stay before, but with yet another broken heart he needed to collect the pieces and start over. 


	7. Broken Hearted Again

"Jesse, I never thought that I would see you again." She hugged him again still unaware that Christian had left. "What are you doing here?"  
"I told you to drink from the spring and I would come back to you. Remember?" Winnie looked away. She remembered the words that Jesse's father had said to her and she hadn't done what Jesse asked of her. Immortality has its perks, Winnie was sure of this, but there were too many risks involved. "I guess you didn't do that, huh?"  
"No, Jesse, I didn't. I couldn't. I don't want to live for ever. I'm not afraid to die. I'm afraid of the unlived life. I couldn't live my life hiding, moving from place to place because someone might find out about me. I loved you and a part of me still does and always will, but we can't be together. I want to have a family and grow old. I want to watch my children grow-up and then watch their children grow up. We could never do that. Jesse, I'm in love with someone. His name is Christian. He's." She looked around and realized he had left.  
"That man you were with? He's so much older than you." She nearly laughed out loud.  
"So are you and by much more than he is."  
"Yes, but not physically." Jesse looked at her plaintively as if this one statement should convince her that he was right for her. "Please, the spring is still there. I'll take you back. It isn't too late."  
"But if I drink then it will be too late to turn back. Jesse, you are untouchable to me and anyone else. I'm sorry. It is impossible." Jesse had tears in his eyes. He wrapped his hands around her face as if to say that anything was possible. When Winnie pulled away he became angry and turned away himself.  
"It isn't if you ever loved me then that would be enough to make it possible." Winnie shook her head no. "Then everything you ever said to me was a lie." He went to walk away, but Winnie grabbed his arm.  
"No. I love you. You were my first love, but Christian is going to be my last." She kissed him on the cheek. "Please don't leave things like this. I may never see you again. I don't want your last words to me to be angry ones."  
"You were my first, last and only love Winnie Foster. I told you I would love you until the day I die. I meant that." He went to kiss her, but before he could brush her lips she turned so he was only capable of kissing her cheek.  
  
Winnie ran back to the hotel as fast as her legs could carry her. She had faced her past head on and now she knew that all she wanted and all she needed was her Christian. That was what he was, hers. Christian was going to be her love for the rest of her life. She knew he loved her back. She burst into his garret. "Christian! Christian!" No body answered. He had to be there. He just had to. She walked around, but he wasn't there. Then she spotted something on his desk. It was a small velvet box with a note.  
"Dearest Winnie,  
I will always love you. I hope you and Jesse will be very happy together.  
Love,  
Christian."  
She opened the box. It was the ring. "No. No." She walked over to his wardrobe and opened it. Almost all of his clothes were gone. So was his suitcase and typewriter. She took one of his remaining shirts and the ring with her and went back to her room. She collapsed on the bed in a flood of tears. She wrapped his shirt around her arms and laid on the bed sobbing. Her mother came in smiling widely.  
"Your father told me what Christian was going to ask you. Well?" Her mother was acting like a teenage girl. Winnie continued crying. "What happened, honey?"  
"Jesse Tuck was at the Eiffel Tower." Her mother looked shocked. "He kissed me. I told him I didn't love him like that anymore and that I loved Christian, but Christian had already left. Now he's gone. He took almost all of his clothes, his typewriter, and his suitcase. I don't think he's coming back. Mother, I have to find him. I love him." Her mother held her almost rocking her like when Winnie had been a baby.  
"Honey, I know what it's like to be in love. We'll find him and you can tell him everything." Her mother had never been so understanding. She looked at her with a confused expression.  
"But how? He could be anywhere. It's hopeless." Her mother grasped her chin.  
"That doesn't sound like a Foster let alone my daughter, Winnie. I've never known you to give up so easily." Winnie smiled through the tears. "He must have told someone in the hotel that he owns where he was going. When you calm down, go ask around. I'll leave you to calm down." Winnie splashed cool water on her face. She took of the shirt and placed the ring in its pocket. She would give them both to him when she found him. She would found him. She had to.  
  
A/N I am on such a roll. I think this will be finished soon. 


	8. Searching London

"Hello," Winnie said to the women at the check in counter in the lobby. "I was looking for Mr. Jackson. Do you know where he is?" She smiled sweetly.  
"He left. He didn't say when he would be back." Winnie turned around to leave disappointed, but then she remembered what her mother told her about not giving up.  
"Please. I love him. Tell me where he might be." She looked at the woman pleadingly. The woman hesitated, but even she could not condone interfering with true love.  
"He didn't say, but he usually goes to a house he owns in London. He visits family there. Here," She scribbled an address on a scrap of paper. "This is the address his mail and messages are forwarded to whenever he leaves for London." She added another address. This one was in New York. "If he isn't in London, he might have gone back to America. This is his address there. But you didn't hear any of this from me." The woman went about her business and Winnie thanked her emphatically.  
"Mother!" She exclaimed entering her parent's suite. She found her father sitting there looking more stern then usual. "Father, what's wrong?"  
  
"I knew that man would hurt you. Now I think we should leave before he returns. I think we should go somewhere else." Winnie thought about protesting, but thought that maybe she would use this to her advantage. Her father would not consciously let her go to London.  
"Father, I agree. You know where I've always wanted to go, after Paris, anyway?" Her father was glad that she was moving on so quickly.  
"Where Winifred?  
"London. May we go there? As soon as possible?" She was beaming.  
  
"Of course. We'll leave as soon as we are packed."  
The journey to London was significantly shorter than the trip to Paris, but it felt almost longer. Winnie was about to burst at the seams with anticipation. She had to find him. She just had to. They were staying in a hotel in the heart of London. Winnie had done a little research and the street name on the slip of paper Winnie had been given was just a few blocks away. Winnie assured herself that if he wasn't there then she would get her parents to take her to New York.  
"Mother, I think that I am going to go walk around the city if that's alright with you? I won't go far." Just a few blocks, she added silently. Her mother agreed. Winnie had not told her that Christian was here, but her mother thought it odd that Winnie wanted to come to London when the English man she loved disappeared, but if she said anything Winnie's father might object.  
Winnie ran through the streets once she was far enough away from the hotel that her parent's wouldn't see her. She found the street fairly easily and walked among the houses. The second to last one was Christian's. She took a deep breath and knocked on the door. A young woman answered the door. She was dressed as a maid.  
"May I help you?"  
"Yes, I'm looking for Mr. Christian Jackson."  
"Who shall I say is calling?"  
"Winnie Foster." Winnie was led into a parlor. She was almost there. The maid went up a flight of stairs and returned.  
"Miss Foster. Mr. Jackson, does not wish to speak to anyone today." Winnie was crushed.  
"Please tell him.tell him that.that I love him." Her voice cracked several times. "And that I'm sorry I hurt him. Oh, please give him these as well." She handed the maid the shirt and the ring box. "I'll show myself out." Winnie walked sullenly to the door and let herself out. She looked back once and then walked straight toward the end.  
"Mr. Jackson?"  
"Yes, Helen?"  
"The young lady asked me to give you these. Also, she said that she was sorry that she hurt you and that she loves you." He looked at the ring box. It took him only a minute before rushing for the stairs and out of the house.  
"Winnie! Winnie!" She thought that she was imagining his voice. She kept walking until she felt someone grab her arms. She almost screamed until she saw who it was. He kissed her with all his passion vehemently on the mouth. "I almost made the biggest mistake of my life. Forgive me. I just saw you with Jesse. I thought we were finished."  
"No, Jesse and I were finished. We're just beginning." She kissed him back.  
"Winifred Foster," He knelt down taking the ring from his pocket. "Will you marry me?"  
"Yes! Yes!" 


	9. Epilogue

EPILOGUE  
  
Winnie and Christian had the ending that they had never gotten with there first loves. They returned to Winnie's family home when her parents died in 1940. Christian wrote his greatest works since Spectacular, Spectacular during the time he was with Winnie. He died the year of their 50th wedding anniversary in 1967. Winnie lived until 1999 to the be one hundred years old (A/N I think that is what the tombstone said in the movie.). They saw their six children grow up and have their own children. They had found what they thought no longer existed for them. Their lives were filled with all kinds of joy, happiness, and above all things love. And their love lived their life to the fullest and will live forever.  
  
(A/N Well there you have it! I actually finished this. Thanx for reading and be sure to leave a review!!!) 


End file.
